Retractor



July 15, 1924. 1,501,428

J. WISOFF RETRACTOR Original Filed May 14 2 Patented July 15, 1924.

uni-ran siraerizs JULIUS WISOFF,- .OF BROOKLYN; -NEW YORK.

RETRAo'roR.

Application filedMay 14,1921, Serial No. 469,598. Renewed April 2, 1924.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS WVrsoFr, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, in the countyof Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retractors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in retractors; particularly a retractor adapted for use in dentistry to hold a patients tongue or cheek spaced from the gums, and thus enable the dentist to operate with convenience and advantage.

An object of this invention is to provide a retractor which can be employed in connection with a dental instrument, such as a hypodermic injector, in such fashion that the dentist needs only one hand. for the proper manipulation of the instrument; and is not obliged to insert the fingers of his other hand or a separate instrument into the patients mouth to prevent interference withthe work he is performing. In its preferred form the retractor is attached to the instrument with which it is to be utilized, and can be actuated in unison therewith to give the desired results.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following de scription, taken with the accompanying drawings; but the right to make changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the various parts is of course reversed; as I desire the invention to be construed as broadly as is indicated by the general meanings of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

On the drawings- Figure 1 is a side View of a dental instrument such as a hypodermic injector carrying a retractor according to my invention;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the retractor in its distendedposition;

Figure 3 is a front view of said retractor; and

-Figure 4 is a top view of same, showing the manner of mounting the retractor.

The same numerals identify the same parts throughout.

I show at 1 the body, sometimes called the barrel, of a hypodermic injector, having a needle 2 through which an anaesthetic, such as cocaine, is discharged from the barrel 1.

The expulsion of the cocaine is effected in' the usual way by a piston or plunger in the barrel operated by a rod 3 projecting through a packing gland 41, and bearing on its outer end ahead 5, upon which pressure isiexerted when the rod 8'is to be moved.

Onthe injector, is.a laterally projecting lug 6, rigid with thebarrel 1, and intended to @SQIVG as a hold for the dentists fingers.

With injectors in common use, two such lugs 6 are.provided, one at one side of the barrel, and the other-at the-opposite side;

and'when the dentist wishes to inject cocaine 10 another instrument with his remainin D hand or utilize the fingers thereof, to push away the patients tongue or oheelgiandextra care is therefore necessitated. In the practice of my'invention the-exercise of additional care is obviated, and the operation is greatly facilitated, by the employment of my retractor, which is so designed that it can be actuated in combination with the injector and made to contribute directly to the end for which the operation of injecting the anaesthetic is performed.

For the purpose in question, I employ a single fixed lug 6, at one side of the barrel 1, and on the opposite side is a lug 7, similar in shape to the lug 6, but mounted so that it can be moved to swing a blade 8 towards and from the barrel 1. 'This lug 7 and blade 8 constitute the body of the retractor, the parts 7 and 8 making substantially a right angle with each other; and at the junction or corner is a perforation to receive a pivot pin 9. Extending from the barrel 1 in line with the lug 6 is a pair of projections 10, in which the pin 9 is mounted, and the corner or angle of the retractor is of course placed between the projections .10. A spring 11 or equivalent means is affixed at one end of the injector, and, bearing at its free end on the lug 7, normally forces the retractor towards the injector and folds the blade against the barrel 1. The free end of the blade 8, adjacent the needle 2 may be looped or spoon-shaped as indicated at 12.

In use thedentist thrusts the injector into the patients mouth, and then draws the lug or handle 7 towards the head 5 to move the tongue or cheek away from the gum at the point to be treated. No pressure is exerted on the head at this time. Vhen the oral cavity is thus cleared, the needle 2 is inserted into the gum and the head pressed to with the injector to make the introduction of the cocaine into the gum both easy and certain. It is adapted to be produced with the usual design of injector now in extensive use, as it lends itselfreadily to incorporation with such injectors in the process of manufacturing same Without involving any special difliculties to be overcome or any great added expense to be met.

Of course the body of the retractor 8, will be of the proper size and width and will be given the shape best suited to the end in view, andthe spring 11 may be attached to the body of the injector in any convenient manner to bear down upon the lug 7.

If desired, a mirror may be mounted on the end 12 of the blade 8.

VVhennot in use, a ring, not shown, may

he slipped over the body 1 and blade 8 to hold the retractor close to the injector.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new and desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination of a hypodermic injector, a retractor comprising a blade and a handle disposed at an angle to said blade, projections on said injector, the junction of said handle and said blade being placed between said projections, a pivot pin engaging said retractor and said projections, and a spring to hold the blade folded against the injector.

2. The combination of a hypodermic injector, a lug at one side of same, projections at the opposite side of said injector in line with the lug, a retractor comprising a handle similar in shape to said lug, and a blade at an angle to the handle, received between said projections at the junction of the blade with the handle; a pivot engaging said projections and said retractor, and a spring fixed to the injector and bearing on said handle to keep the retractor folded against the injector.

In witness whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, the 6th day of May, 1921.

JULIUS WISOFF. 

